The governor of Svalbard () represents the Norwegian government in exercising its sovereignty over the Svalbard archipelago (Spitsbergen).
The position reports to the Norwegian Ministry of Justice, but it maintains all Norwegian interests in the area, including environmental protection, law enforcement, representation, mediation, and civil matters, such as marriage and divorce. An important part of the position is maintaining good working relations with the Russian community in Barentsburg.
To this end, the governor's organization consists of: a staff section with Russian interpreters and advisors on legal matters, tourism, etc. a section for law enforcement a section for environmental protection an administrative section, including archiving, financial management and IT support
The governor's office also has at its disposition several helicopters, snowmobiles, speedboats, and other equipment needed to meet its responsibilities. The office's annual budget is determined by the Storting and runs at about NOK 60 million, of which the largest part is used for transportation.
The position was previously called Sysselmann in Norwegian until 1 July 2021, when it was changed to Sysselmester. This was part of a wider decision by the Solberg government to replace gender-specific governmental titles in Norway with gender-neutral terms.
List of governors of Svalbard Name Term began Term endedEdvard Lassen?August 1925 Johannes Gerckens Bassøe August 1925 28 July 1933 Helge Ingstad (acting) 28 July 1933 1 September 1935 Wolmar Tycho Marlow 1 September 1935 1941 Vacant 1941 1945 Håkon Balstad 1945 1956 Odd Birketvedt 1956 1960 Finn Backer Midtbøe 1960 1963 Tollef Landsverk 1963 1967 Stephen Stephensen 1967 1970 Fredrik Beichmann 1970 1974 Leif Eldring 1974 1978 Jan Grøndahl 1978 1982 Carl Alexander Wendt 1982 1985 Leif Eldring 1985 1991 Odd Blomdal 1991 1995 Ann-Kristin Olsen 1995 1998 Morten Ruud 1998 2001 Odd Olsen Ingerø 2001 2005 Sven Ole Fagernæs (acting) 2005 1 October 2005 Per Sefland 1 October 2005 16 September 2009 Odd Olsen Ingerø 16 September 2009 1 October 2015 Kjerstin Askholt 1 October 2015 24 June 2021 Lars Fause 24 June 2021 Incumbent
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